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Culture: Film Deal for Cannibal? February 05, 2004 Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=8&u=/nm/20040205/od_nm/germany_cannibal_dc Cannibal Attracts Interest from Filmmakers By David Crossland BERLIN (Reuters) - The German cannibal convicted of manslaughter last week for killing and eating a willing victim has received several inquiries from film companies about making a movie of the sensational case, his lawyer said on Wednesday. But the lawyer dismissed reports British actor Hugh Grant, famous for his romantic comedies, had expressed an interest in buying the film rights and playing the lead role. Grant's spokeswoman, Karin Smith, called the reports "absolute rubbish." The cannibal, 42-year-old computer repair man Armin Meiwes, filmed the fetish-induced killing on video tape and the gory details of the case have caused shock and fascination worldwide. "We've had inquiries from Germany and the rest of Europe," said Harald Ermel, who defended Meiwes in the two-month trial in Kassel, central Germany. He did not name any film companies. "There is also interest from media wanting interviews and from book publishers," said Ermel, adding that Meiwes was likely to require a ghost writer for the memoirs he plans to write. Ermel rejected media reports in Britain and Germany that Grant, who looks nothing like the stark-featured Meiwes, was trying to secure the film rights. "There has been no contact on this between Hugh Grant and Herr Meiwes or his defense... This is evidently an erroneous report," Ermel said. Meiwes was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison last Friday but could be out in less than five years if he gets parole for good behavior. Meiwes is popular with fellow inmates because he helps them write letters, Ermel has said. The cannibal had fantasized since puberty about eating a man to fill a void left by the departure of his father, and advertised for victims on the Internet. Psychiatrists judged him sane but severely disturbed and Meiwes has said he will undergo counseling in jail to rid him of his "fetish for men's flesh." Meiwes escaped a murder conviction because his victim, a 43-year-old computer engineer, had wanted to be killed and even contacted Meiwes on the Internet asking to be eaten. Prosecutors had demanded a life sentence and this week lodged an appeal against the conviction. The case has no legal precedent and is set to go before Gemany's Supreme Court, legal experts say. Ermel said it could take up to nine months before the appeal hearing begins. "Where are we living?" news magazine Der Spiegel said this week in a report on the case. "Has all measure of the difference between normal and abnormal, right and wrong, of morality and decency been lost?" |
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